Discussion dominator student- A student may dominate discussionto the point that other students are discouraged from making contributions. This student may post constantly, day and night, jumping onto the discussion as soon as s/he is permitted.
The first line of action in this case (and in so many others) is to respond directly to the student by email, txt message, or phone call. In responding, you may want to begin with a positive statement to assure the student that you recognize the engagement and interest s/he has in the class. Be careful to differentiate between the value of the student and the value of the behavior in the context of the class. Explain that you understand the student's knowledge and enthusiasm, but that you need to enlist the student's help in assuring that all of the students have an opportunity to share their ideas. Our experience is that it is not unusual that students exhibiting this behavior have been suppressed in other classes or other parts of their lives.
Strongly opinionated student- A student may be driven by an inflexible dogmatic dedication to a viewpoint or principle to such an extent that s/he berates other students with differing viewpoints. In some cases these may become as extreme as religious or racial bigotry and bias.
It is important to set a tolerant tone at the outset of the class. You may even want to put a statement in the syllabus that all opinions will be respected and personal attacks will not be tolerated
Belligerent student -This is the student who directly challenges either your pedagogical approach or the content that you are presenting. Ko describes situations in which she talks about responding to posted student complaints such as “this teacher didn’t provide enough feedback” etc that gets agreement from other students and starts losing control of the classroom.
Respond to the substance of the concern without acknowledging the hostility behind it. A follow up personal email can be helpful, acknowledging their frustration and encouraging the student to contact you privately if they need more feedback on an assignment.
Threatening student (and the legal line)- Just as in the physical classroom, a disturbed student may cross the line into an area of threats or other obscene name calling or remarks that are not protected speech.
Such comments demand immediate attention. It is important that you inform the VASTS staff. The safety of all students is of utmost importance.
The emotionally disturbed or psychotic student- Most faculty members are not trained to diagnose psychoses and emotional disturbances. But, most everyone can identify erratic, illogical, or overtly paranoid postings. In these cases, it is important to take action immediately.
Contact theVASTS staff and ask for the proper path to get help for the student so that s/he does not intimidate or injure another student or him/herself.
The "I must have an "A"" student- This student is one who has much at stake, posts long and often - too often. Many of us have encountered the student who will fill a forum with 20 or more posts of relatively little substance.
Certainly, this student is not unique to online. In this case, praise for the quality rather than quantity work is in order. But, an instructor might consider having a "side bar" conversation with the student to explain that it is best to look at the discussion board not as an individual platform for monolog, but rather as one for two or three-way engagement among students and the instructor. Sometimes one can call upon the higher values of the student to encourage a collaborative team approach.
Disappearing group member – This student is doing individual work but isn’t contributing to group assigned tasks. Even though other students within the group contact them, this student doesn't respond.
The group must move forward. Direct emails and calls to the student may help.
It may be possible to minimize this impact by designing group tasks in my online courses such that each group member has a specific assignment within the group task. If one fails to come through, the others can move forward and create a report that will stand on its own.
The "Rip van Winkle" sleep past midterm student- This student is one who participates little in the first weeks of the class, then awakens to the possibility of failure and seeks special dispensation from penalty for lack of participation in the early part of the class.
This one is open to different interpretations. If one considers that it is the primary value of the student to complete the course assignments, one might have a lenient late-submission policy. If, on the other hand, if one engages in a social constructivist approach, the lack of participation significantly hurts fellow students as well as the individual.
The "needy" online student- This student needs confirmation of seemingly ever action in the class. S/he needs reminders and clarifications of most assignments. The faculty member becomes a surrogate parent.
A quality, detailed syllabus and rubric system can go a long way toward addressing this problem. When the student repeatedly asks for confirmations, the instructor may simply refer the student to the syllabus. Over time, the student may learn to become more self-sufficient.
Distance Education Student Primer: Skills for Being a Successful Online Learner (Indiana University) This .pdf provides great information for managing time, student accountability, online communication skill development, community development, etc. Please note: This is not the "official VASTS" guidebook but is a great resource which generally applies to any distance learning environment.
Here are some of the common types of behaviors that we may encounter: (Taken from https://sites.google.com/site/difficultonlinestudent/)
- Discussion dominator student- A student may dominate discussionto the point that other students are discouraged from making contributions. This student may post constantly, day and night, jumping onto the discussion as soon as s/he is permitted.
- The first line of action in this case (and in so many others) is to respond directly to the student by email, txt message, or phone call. In responding, you may want to begin with a positive statement to assure the student that you recognize the engagement and interest s/he has in the class. Be careful to differentiate between the value of the student and the value of the behavior in the context of the class. Explain that you understand the student's knowledge and enthusiasm, but that you need to enlist the student's help in assuring that all of the students have an opportunity to share their ideas. Our experience is that it is not unusual that students exhibiting this behavior have been suppressed in other classes or other parts of their lives.
- Strongly opinionated student- A student may be driven by an inflexible dogmatic dedication to a viewpoint or principle to such an extent that s/he berates other students with differing viewpoints. In some cases these may become as extreme as religious or racial bigotry and bias.
- It is important to set a tolerant tone at the outset of the class. You may even want to put a statement in the syllabus that all opinions will be respected and personal attacks will not be tolerated
- Belligerent student -This is the student who directly challenges either your pedagogical approach or the content that you are presenting. Ko describes situations in which she talks about responding to posted student complaints such as “this teacher didn’t provide enough feedback” etc that gets agreement from other students and starts losing control of the classroom.
- Respond to the substance of the concern without acknowledging the hostility behind it. A follow up personal email can be helpful, acknowledging their frustration and encouraging the student to contact you privately if they need more feedback on an assignment.
- Threatening student (and the legal line)- Just as in the physical classroom, a disturbed student may cross the line into an area of threats or other obscene name calling or remarks that are not protected speech.
- Such comments demand immediate attention. It is important that you inform the VASTS staff. The safety of all students is of utmost importance.
- The emotionally disturbed or psychotic student- Most faculty members are not trained to diagnose psychoses and emotional disturbances. But, most everyone can identify erratic, illogical, or overtly paranoid postings. In these cases, it is important to take action immediately.
- Contact theVASTS staff and ask for the proper path to get help for the student so that s/he does not intimidate or injure another student or him/herself.
- The "I must have an "A"" student- This student is one who has much at stake, posts long and often - too often. Many of us have encountered the student who will fill a forum with 20 or more posts of relatively little substance.
- Certainly, this student is not unique to online. In this case, praise for the quality rather than quantity work is in order. But, an instructor might consider having a "side bar" conversation with the student to explain that it is best to look at the discussion board not as an individual platform for monolog, but rather as one for two or three-way engagement among students and the instructor. Sometimes one can call upon the higher values of the student to encourage a collaborative team approach.
- Disappearing group member – This student is doing individual work but isn’t contributing to group assigned tasks. Even though other students within the group contact them, this student doesn't respond.
- The group must move forward. Direct emails and calls to the student may help.
- It may be possible to minimize this impact by designing group tasks in my online courses such that each group member has a specific assignment within the group task. If one fails to come through, the others can move forward and create a report that will stand on its own.
- The "Rip van Winkle" sleep past midterm student- This student is one who participates little in the first weeks of the class, then awakens to the possibility of failure and seeks special dispensation from penalty for lack of participation in the early part of the class.
- This one is open to different interpretations. If one considers that it is the primary value of the student to complete the course assignments, one might have a lenient late-submission policy. If, on the other hand, if one engages in a social constructivist approach, the lack of participation significantly hurts fellow students as well as the individual.
- The "needy" online student- This student needs confirmation of seemingly ever action in the class. S/he needs reminders and clarifications of most assignments. The faculty member becomes a surrogate parent.
- A quality, detailed syllabus and rubric system can go a long way toward addressing this problem. When the student repeatedly asks for confirmations, the instructor may simply refer the student to the syllabus. Over time, the student may learn to become more self-sufficient.
Resources:Student Guidelines
This .pdf provides great information for managing time, student accountability, online communication skill development, community development, etc. Please note: This is not the "official VASTS" guidebook but is a great resource which generally applies to any distance learning environment.